Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is well known in the art. RFID systems are usually made of two components, a reader and a tag or card, which will hereinafter be referred to as an RFID device. The RFID device generally comprises an antenna, in the form of an air coil, and a microchip to which the antenna is connected. Since the operation of a RFID system is believed well known in the art, it will therefore not be discussed further herein.
The manufacturing of miniaturized RFID devices is generally divided in two sequential steps: the winding of an ultra-fine magnet wire to provide an air-coil and the subsequent electrical connection of the two terminals of the coil to pads of the microchip.
One of the difficulties in the mass-production process of RFID devices concerns the handling of the coil terminals and their precise alignment above the microchip pads. Indeed, since the wire used to form the air coil is ultra-fine, usually wire gage AWG 44 to AWG 50, it is difficult to handle and to properly align and maintain during the soldering operation. Accordingly, a complicated dedicated apparatus is often used to connect the antenna to the microchip. This apparatus increases the total cost of production of the RFID device.